SCRIPTURAL SERIES.
AND REBEKAH
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ISAAC AND REBEKAH.
BRAHAM, the
father of Isaac, was
born in the country
of Mesopotamia, which was a part of Syria, about three
thousand years before the birth of Christ. He lived for a
very long time in the land of his birth, among his own
kindred, and was possessed of great wealth in gold and
silver, and vast flocks of sheep and herds of cattle ; but,
what is better still, he was a good man, and God loved
him, because he walked in his ways.
Now when Abraham was somewhat advanced in years,
the Lord commanded him to leave his native place and go
to the land of Canaan, a fertile and beautiful country, now
called Palestine, or the Holy Land. And God promised
to give all that country to him and his posterity, that is,
to his children and their children after them, for all gene-
rations-; and God also told him that he should be the father
of many nations, that would be great and powerful in after
ines. But how was this to come to pass? for Abraham
1 neither son nor daughter ; however, he trusted in the
1
his people, his flocks, and herds,
to the land of Canaan, where he settled, and in time became
lord of the whole country.
The people of those countries did not then live in houses,
but in tents, as the wandering Arabs do at the present
day; and thus Abraham lived in the midst of his people,
and was their ruler, their priest, and their judge; for there
was no king, therefore this was called the patriarchal form
of government, meaning the kind of authority that a father
lias over his children. Still Abraham had no son to inherit
his lands, which caused him much grief; for years passed
away, and he and his wife were both very old.
At length God appeared to him in a dream, and said, that
he was now about to send him a son, who was to be named
Isaac, and through whom, the promise lie had made to
Abraham, of his family's future greatness, was to be ful-
filled ; and so it came to pass ; for Isaac was the father of
* Jacob, who had twelve sons, and their families, in course
-of time, formed the twelve tribes of Israel, who divided;
®the land of Canaan amongst them, and constitur ' ■ 1 -.j*s«
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Sarah his wife rejoiced greatly ^
when Isaac was born ; and they had reason to take plea-
sure in him, for he was a child of an excellent disposition,
being brought up to reverence and obey his parents, and
to fear the Lord. He lived to the age of forty, without
being married, when his father was anxious that he should
have a wife from among his own family or kindred, and
not from those of a stranger; so he resolved to send to his
former country, where many of his relatives still resided,
to seek a damsel for his son's bride.
But Abraham's strong affection for his only child, made
him unwilling to let Isaac go by himself; so he commis-
sioned his steward, who was an old and faithful servant, to
go to Haran, the place of his birth, and select a wife for
his son from among the maidens of his own kindred ; and
he sent many presents to be given to the damsel and her
friends. Some of these were jewels and bridal dresses,
the latter being probably vests of rich silk, as such gar-
ments were always among the wedding clothes of a bride
^opulent circumstances, who also wore a veil that covered
customary, in the east, to send
presents on such occasions, and
indeed no one ever makes a visit without being provided
with some gift for the person to whom the visit is paid.
Even the poorest people follow this custom, as far as their
circumstances will allow, and when they go to see each
other, will carry with them a flower, an orange, or some
other trifle, to present to their friend.
But to return to our story. The steward set out on his
errand, attended by several of his master's servants, with
ten camels to carry provisions and water for the journey.
The camel is the most useful of all animals in the east,
since, without it, there would be no possibility of traversing
the sandy plains in those countries.
The steward at length arrived at the city in which his
master's kinsmen dwelt, and finding a well near the place,
he stopped at it to give the camels drink. It was evening,
&I the city were coming out with their
pitchers to get water ; for in those
times the manners of the people were so simple, that the
daughters of the richest men fetched water from the wells
for the use of the family ; we therefore need not think it
strange that Abraham's servant should look among these
damsels for a suitable bride for his young master. But he
was afraid of trusting to his own judgment, so he prayed
to God to send him a sign, by which he might know how
to make his choice, saying, " Lord, I pray thee, let it
come to pass that the damsel to whom I shall say, — * Let
down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink ; ' and
she shall answer, ' Drink, and I will give thy camels
drink also;' — let the same be her that Thou hast ap-
pointed for Thy servant Isaac."
He had scarcely made an end to his prayer, when he
saw a beautiful young girl coming towards the well, with
*»?*
her pitcher thrown over
her shoulder ; so he went to meet h
her, and asked her to give him a ^BR
little water to drink. She answered, with ready kindness,
"Drink, my lord; and I will draw water for thy camels,
also." Then the man thanked God in his heart for sending
him the sign he had prayed for; and said to himself, " This
is surely the maiden whom the Lord has appointed to be
the wife of my master's son." He then enquired what
was her name? and whose daughter she was? when, to
his great joy, he found she was Rebekah, the daughter
of Nabor, who was Abraham's brother.
By all these circumstances, we may see that the marriage
of Isaac and Rebekah was by the especial will of God, who
put it into the heart of the steward to pray for a sign by
which he might know on whom to fix his choice.
That wise and trusty servant then took from among the
presents he had brought, a pair of golden bracelets, weigh-
ing ten shekels, which was equal to five ounces ; and put
them on the arms of Rebekah ; and he also gave her a
golden ornament which, in the Bible, is called an ear-ring.
Rebekah ran to shew th^-presents to her brother Laban,
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who immediately went to ^^w
invite the stranger to go home
with him, and offered him lodg-
ing and entertainment for himself, his men, and camels,
as long as he chose to remain there. The steward went
home with him, and a supper was presently prepared ; but
before he could eat, he made known his errand in that
country ; told how God had directed him to choose Rebe-
kah, in preference to any other damsel ; and asked her
mother and brother if they are willing to let her return
with him, to marry her cousin Isaac? to which they con-
sented ; for they saw that it was the will of God that this
marriage should take place, and they doubted not that
Isaac, like his father Abraham, was a good man.
The steward then presented the gifts he had brought,
after which he sat down to supper, feeling sure that he
had clone right, and that his master, Abraham, would be
pleased with him.
On the following morning, he requested leave to depart;
but the friends of Rebekah begged he would permit her to
stay with them a few days longer. However, he said it
was his duty to return as qujplrlv as possible; therefore,
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they agreed to let the
damsel decide for herself, whether
she would go or not; and she
consented to go. Then they objected no longer; and
Rebekah, taking an affectionate leave of her mother and
brother, set out with the trusty steward, accompanied by
her nurse, and several other female attendants.
One evening, as Isaac was watching in the fields, he saw
the camels returning, and women riding on them. He hast-
ened to meet them ; and, when Rebekah saw them coming,
she alighted from her camel, and put her veil over her, to
conceal her face, according to the custom of the maidens of
that country, at those times, and to this day. The steward
then related to Isaac all that had happened, at which he
was much pleased, and taking Rebekah by the hand, led
her to the tent, which had been the abode of Sarah, his
mother, who was long since dead.
They were married according to the Jewish customs,
with the blessings of their father Abraham, and lived very
happily together, for many years; and their sons were
Esau and Jacob, whose interesting history will be related
in another book.
8
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